Thought For The Month – January 2015

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

I once saw a cartoon, which pictured a large flock of sheep headed towards a cliff. As the sheep reached the edge of the cliff, they fell over the edge to their death. They had reached the point of no return — there were hundreds more sheep coming, and they simply could not turn around. But among all those sheep headed to their doom, there was one lone sheep going the other way — making his way away from the cliff.

That was a cartoon, but a few years ago there was a news item out of Turkey, which reported that an entire flock of sheep walked off a cliff and fell to their death. The lead sheep had gotten it into his head to go the wrong way, and every last one of those sheep followed him to their death.

We believe this describes the day in which we live perfectly. It seems as though the entire world has gone insane. Evil has become good in almost every area of life. And if you say anything about it, you are looked at like you’re crazy or uncharitable or even downright evil—because not only has evil become good, good has also become evil.

The righteous are by far the minority today, and this being the case, there are fewer and fewer people out there who are willing to tolerate the righteous. Especially despised are the preachers of righteousness.” . . . men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” John 3:19

The world around us is headed towards a precipice. The people in your town, your workplace, your neighbourhood and perhaps even your church, are trotting towards their doom in ignorant bliss. They think they’re just fine as they make their way up, and they are rising higher and higher. But they have no idea what is ahead.

There are only a scant few who are aware of the impending peril that awaits if we keep on going the way we are headed, and they are, by the grace and mercy of God, headed the other direction. But it is a challenge.

It’s hard going against the flow. People who go against the flow are looked upon as trouble-makers. They are inconvenient, troublesome and irritating to those headed towards the cliff. We are often looked upon as narrow minded, because we have not kept up with the times. We are behind the times- neanderthals—oddballs—because we love God’s Word more than political correctness and we want to live lives that are pleasing unto the Lord Jesus Christ. The world feels that we should fall in line and be more broadminded.

If you have ever tried going against the flow in a crowd, you know that it requires quite an effort. The crowd is pushing you one way, and you’re trying to go the other way, and sometimes you can find yourself being tempted to just go with the flow. There is no resistance in going with the flow, and no effort is needed. But what of the cost of giving in and going with the flow? Are you prepared to pay that price?

The next time someone calls you narrow minded because of your love for, and dedication to, the Word of God, I challenge you not to shrink back, but to point them to the above passage and tell them unequivocally that you are indeed narrow minded, and that you can be none other!

Because . . . broad is the way that leads to destruction, but narrow is the way that leads to everlasting life!